Stress Cracks

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   My 88 ski nautique was just in an accident.

Basically while putting it on the trailer the gas was accidentally hit cause the boat to smash into the bunk, hop over the rail and end up resting on the wheel well.  

Anyways I brought the boat to a the marina i bought it from in Lake George NY.  This place only sells correct crafts, they have a full service department and I trust them.  The guy told me that along with other damages (prop, strut, and work on trailer) there are a lot of stress cracks in the gel coat that need to be fixed.  He is going to get an estimate to me sometime next week.

I told my boss at work about this, he is a PhD chemist and also owned and operated a marina on lake Champlain before getting back into the plastics business.  He told me not to have the cracks fixed and instead coat the hull with a material called interprotect.

I figure I am going to ask the marina about this when I talk to them next week but was wondering if anyone here had any opinions on this.

Thanks,

Dave

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David Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest	Post Options Post Reply Quote David Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Stress Cracks Posted: July-01-2005 at 11:42am
	My 88 ski nautique was just in an accident. Basically while putting it on the trailer the gas was accidentally hit cause the boat to smash into the bunk, hop over the rail and end up resting on the wheel well. Anyways I brought the boat to a the marina i bought it from in Lake George NY. This place only sells correct crafts, they have a full service department and I trust them. The guy told me that along with other damages (prop, strut, and work on trailer) there are a lot of stress cracks in the gel coat that need to be fixed. He is going to get an estimate to me sometime next week. I told my boss at work about this, he is a PhD chemist and also owned and operated a marina on lake Champlain before getting back into the plastics business. He told me not to have the cracks fixed and instead coat the hull with a material called interprotect. I figure I am going to ask the marina about this when I talk to them next week but was wondering if anyone here had any opinions on this. Thanks, Dave

David F Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Platinum Member Joined: June-11-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1770	Post Options Post Reply Quote David F Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July-01-2005 at 12:46pm
	Stress cracks or not the end of world, just unsightly. Fix them if you can afford it, or wait until winter and get the underwater gear repaired first, so the summer is not gone. Using the boat with stress cracked gelcoat will do no harm. With that said, if the cracks are numerous AND more of a spider web instead of long cracks that do not generally cross each other then I would be worried that the fiberglass composite has been damaged and this should be addressed immediately. It sounds as if you are going to have others fix the damage. If you decide to do it yourself (once you see the price due to labor estimates) then I and others can guide you through the repairs of both the fiberglass/gelcoat and mechanical items. Good luck

jcawley3 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: January-31-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 82	Post Options Post Reply Quote jcawley3 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July-02-2005 at 7:24pm
	I had stress cracks on my old 86 and was very worried until I showed them to someone that worked for correct craft he told not worry and go skiing never had any problems other than looks

David Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest	Post Options Post Reply Quote David Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: July-04-2005 at 11:59am
	Yea, main problem is I am currently out of the country so I cannot look at the damage myself. Step one: boss gives you three days notice that you will be spending the next 3months of the summer in germany. Step 2: one week after arriving in germany your brother calls to tell you he damaged your boat. This does however mean that getting the boat back on the water right away is not a main concern because I wouldn't be able to use it anyways. It sounded like fixing the stress cracks was going to cost a lot of money, mainly in labor, but I think the cost will be covered by my insurance so I am more concerned about getting the job done right. I will have to eat the cost of the deductible ~1k, but the other damages to the prop, strut, fin, and trailer that definitely need to be fixed will add up to the deductible anyways. Thanks Dave

Stress Cracks

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